phones

Get ready, Google Glass may soon be as omnipresent as the iPhone. People will be seen walking down the street, grocery shopping, and riding the subway with the wearable tech sitting on their faces.

According to a new report by Forrester, 21.6 million U.S. online consumers, or 12 percent of the population, are willing to wear augmented reality eyeglasses if they come from a trusted brand. Forrester's report is based on surveys with more than 4,600 U.S. adults in April.

"Not since Apple's iPhone debuted in 2007 has a computing device attracted as … Read more

After Best Buy hosted an iPhone trade-in day earlier this month, the retailer has decided to do it again -- but this time, the deal will last for nine days.

The way the program works is that customers can bring in an iPhone 4S or 4 and trade it for a brand new iPhone 5, according to USA Today. Between June 21 and June 29, Best Buy will give customers a $150 trade-in credit for their old phone, which makes the iPhone 5 free (the 16GB iPhone 5 currently costs $149.99 at Best Buy with a $50 instant rebate).… Read more

Facebook on Thursday held an event to announce a "big idea," according to the invitation sent out last week. Immediately rumors started circulating that Facebook and Instagram were going to take on Twitter's Vine service by adding video to the popular filtered-photo social network.

The rumors were true.

As of today iOS and Android (the Android version has yet to show up in the Google Play store, but it should be there sometime today) users will be able to install Instagram 4.0, complete with a new Video on Instagram feature.

Once you have the update installed, … Read more

Has one of Apple's major suppliers just outted the much-rumored low-cost iPhone?

At a shareholders meeting on Thursday, Pegatron CEO T.H. Tung served up one intriguing comment about the so-called "cheap" iPhone, suggesting that the product is real but that it won't be cheap, according to China Times as covered by blog site Macotakara.

Tung said the price of the phone would be "fairly high," though he apparently didn't reveal any specific price ranges. The CEO explained that compared with cheaper feature phones, today's smartphones are able to do so many … Read more

Microsoft was in deep discussions to acquire Nokia, but talks have broken down, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With such a deal, Microsoft would gain direct control over the mobile device maker, which has been the marquee partner for the software giant's fledgling Windows Phone operating system. Such a deal could shake up the smartphone business in the same way that Google did when it acquired Motorola Mobility.

Nokia and Microsoft both declined to comment on the report.

Both Microsoft and Nokia had been struggling to regain their once dominant positions. Microsoft has been pushed back on its … Read more

As one who has been dumped by Skype, registered mail, Pinot poured on bald head, head-butt, intermediary, and sudden marriage to another, I wondered what could possibly remain.

Then I read Katy Perry's plaintive revelation that the very humorous star of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Russell Brand, had allegedly told her to forget their marriage by text.

I had heard that this might be a method employed in middle school to end what wasn't meant to be.

However, I wasn't aware that those designated as adults might also believe this was appropriate etiquette. … Read more

An iPhone needs a stand. There, I said it. Whether for watching videos on an airplane, reading your Flipboard feeds over breakfast, or snapping rock-steady photos, nothing beats having your screen propped up at the perfect angle.

For a long while, my preferred solution was the Zero Chroma Teatro case, which includes a built-in kickstand that props your iPhone vertically or horizontally at any number of angles. Alas, over time the hinge got loose, to the point where it wouldn't prop at any angle.

So now I'm on the hunt for some kind of stand, one that supports … Read more

The next iPhone -- or iPhones -- will most likely be released this fall, about a year after the iPhone 5 made its debut.

Will it be called the iPhone 6? Probably not. Rumor has it that Apple most likely will trot out the iPhone 5S, which will look cosmetically the same as the iPhone 5 but have some upgrades on the inside (see our regularly updated iPhone 5S rumor roundup page to get the latest dish).

But whatever it is called, I do have a wish list of what I'd like it to have.

Click on any image … Read more

HTC, Sony, and Huawei are leading the charge into large, full high-definition phone displays, said DisplayMate Technologies. It's a market Apple has yet to enter.

"With the iPhone 4 Retina display, Apple pioneered the previous generation of smartphone displays in 2010," wrote Raymond Soneira in DisplayMate Technologies' Full HD Flagship Smartphone Display Technology Shoot-Out released on Tuesday.

"This time the pioneers are all Android devices, with the iPhone still not even at the basic HD resolution of 1,280x720," he said.

Apple has some catching up to do to achieve "true Retina," as … Read more